YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS. The Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a typical example of the peoples’ struggle for self-determination right, Armenia’s defense minister Vigen Sargsyan told Russian media representatives.

“It is about the people, who were forced to affirm this right by weapons, because a war was imposed on them. This people was able to do it in the 1990s as result of a very unequal fight, and after this it was able to build an effective state administration system, a democratic system, were elections are held regularly, a Parliament is formed, a President is elected, it has its own judicial system, concept of economic development”, Sargsyan said.

 He added that the people of Nagorno Karabakh have fully realized the mechanisms during the 24 years of establishing the ceasefire, mechanisms which are necessary for recognizing a state.

“In this unrecognized state an entire generation was raised with the idea that they are living in a sovereign state, which makes its own decisions. There is no process which can convince them otherwise”, the minister said.

Vigen Sargsyan underscored that the Armenian side is always open for negotiations of peaceful settlement of the conflict.

“We are actively participating in the talks, but we find that seeking the path for solution is directly linked with the recognition and respect for the self-determination right of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. All remaining issues, which exist in this context, are derivative from the main issue. They must be settled, taking into account the security and the right of free development of the Nagorno Karabakhi people”, the minister said.

The minister noted with regret that the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group are regularly failing because of Azerbaijan, which doesn’t aim at finding a solution of the conflict.

“Azerbaijan is always protracting the conflict’s solution by increasing its arsenal and spreading anti-Armenian rhetoric on all levels. On this level of hatred, of course, it is simply impossible in the Karabakh issue to prepare their own society for a compromise solution. And we very well understand that it is very difficult to combine completely different administration systems, which exist in Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan. We will not get tired from the work of reaching a peaceful solution to the conflict, but we are obliged to be ready to any development of events, because, in my assessment, civil and democratic control over the Armed Forces completely lacks in Azerbaijan. And this means that the probability of resumption of combat operations in the conflict zone can be assessed from 0 to 100%”, Sargsyan said.

.He expressed hope that it is well understood in Baku that any tension can lead to large scale war, which can evoke chaos, and this way the conflict will not be solved for sure, because it doesn’t have a military solution.

“This is very clear, taking into account that the issue isn’t made up, it is real and it is impossible to imagine that the people living there can retreat from the right of living under their own laws in their country”, the minister said.